Wednesday, September 15, 2004

09-15-04: The Darkness and the Light

It�s raining in Vancouver and the NHL has locked out the players. In other words, there was nothing shocking about what transpired this morning. As long as both the NHL and NHLPA are firmly entrenched in their must-have terms, any further negotiations are going to be just as pointless as the recent ones.

"At some point, the owners have to realize the players will never accept a salary cap or a system linking payroll to league revenues," NHLPA president Trevor Linden said after Thursday's meeting, the last between the two sides.

I have a bet with a co-worker that there will be a shortened NHL season and a luxury tax system put in place (In other words, the players will win), while my co-worker believes there will be a hard-cap or a punishing luxury tax (basically a cap) with no NHL season.

I have $5 on this bet, thus I have a minor rooting interest for the NHLPA.

Since the lockout will be a long one, there will be plenty of discussion on this blog, other blogs, and the Face Off Circle message board about this issue. Perhaps it�s time for me to come off of the sidelines a little more eh?

After the disasters of the 1996 World Cup, 1998 Nagano Olympics, and 1998 World Junior Champions, Canada was in a so-called �crisis�, and the bigwigs of hockey got together to discuss the problems with Canadian hockey. Apparently, Canada was being passed by the Europeans and we no longer ruled �our� game.

Nowadays, Canadians are clearly at the top of the heap in hockey and we�ve taken back �our� game, so to speak.

1. Development - Until this season, the CHL didn�t really change its rules and the league (especially the WHL) has developed into an even more low-scoring trap-fest. Players are learning systems over skills. Canadian kids are developing at the same avenues and haven�t been really thrust into a skills-first mentality that the Europeans have.

2. Lucky Currency - Ever since the Canadian brass started burying a loonie (A $1 coin for the non-Canadian readers) somewhere in the ice (Salt Lake City was the first), the Canadian team has had Gold at the senior levels and Silver at the WJC�s. I�m surprised the opposing countries haven�t cited us for an unfair comparative advantage.

3. The NEW Guard - Looking back at 1996 and 1998, the Canadian teams were filled with old Geezers, long-established stars, and players who had reputations for NHL greatness, rather than perhaps the most skilled rosters. The teams were also filled with lesser-skilled role players who were older. I�m specifically looking at guys like Messier (WC but not Nagano), Gretzky, Shanahan, Zamuner, Linden, Fleury, Brind�Amour, Ranford... Canada was always very reluctant to take youngster players since they didn�t have �experience.

Fast forward to today and we often have some of the youngest and brightest stars on our rosters: Dany Heatley, Vincent Lecavalier (World Cup MVP), Brad Richards, Simon Gagne, Jerome Iginla, and Roberto Luongo. Now that Canada realizes the young players have talent and can handle themselves at these tournaments, we don�t have to rely on less enthusiastic vets who have some of their best days behind them.

4. SPEED and SKILL - In the past, Canadians teams played �Canadian� hockey based on Canadian attributes: Grinding, Determination, Physical Play, Intimidation, Heart, Dumping-it-In, etc... This wasn�t working so well against the faster and highly skilled European teams that could take advantage of Canada by using their own speed to nullify the Canadian attack, especially on the bigger ice surfaces.

It finally clicked for Canada that they had plenty of players with skill and speed, and they could play the same high-paced hockey that the Europeans were, and do it even better! The Czechs, Russians, Swedes, and all other countries cannot match the quality of depth that Canada can throw out there. When the Canadian teams started placing a premium on speed and skill and let these players use these attributes effectively (unlike SLOVAKIA�s World Cup BS), then the Gold medals started piling up.

We must also remember that *anything* can happen in one game or a short tournament. There is a lot of luck involved (Salt Lake City � Belarus, we salute you!) in short-span events and the Canadians have had the fortune on their side most of the time.

Certainly, Team Canada officials have taken steps to ensure the teams they take emphasize speed and skill over physical play and �role playing�, but things could have easily just remained as bad if the stars aligned a little differently. How would I put it?

�Luck is the residue of design� � Branch Rickey, former Oakland A�s owner.

If the Canadians would like to ensure even more Golden victories in the future, then the development of young players in Canada must change to ensure skill is developed over system place. The sweeping rule changes that the CHL is introducing might just do that, but the practice-to-game ratio must also change if the players are to develop their raw skills.